Summary

This position serves as the Community Coordinator on the Health Care for Homeless Veterans team. The responsibilities are to provide clinical evidence based services and interventions to Veterans at imminent risk of homelessness or homeless that walk-in to the VA Community Base Outpatient Clinic. Position will require some outreach in the community and to local shelters and places where homeless may congregate. The position will provide support, services, and coverage for HCHV staff as needed.

Duties

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Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• The incumbent is a coordinator in the HCHV Program. The incumbent provides program coordination and administrative responsibility for HCHV services.
• The incumbent also assures compliance with Joint Commission standards and CARF accreditation.
• Develops and implements ongoing education for providers, Veterans, families, community partners, and members of the community on VA resources.
• Responds to Hotline calls or consults, interfacility consults and phone inquiries from VA staff and community stakeholders to address needs of at-risk Veterans.
• Ensures patient and staff educational material is prominently displayed throughout the facility and CBOCs.
• Gathers and analyzes data to identify trends regarding homelessness reporting as well as adhering to station and VISN reporting requirements and timelines.
• The incumbent performs daily operations, develops policies and procedures for program operations, and prepares reports and statistics for SWS, the facility, the VISN and national use.
• The incumbent collaborates with other members of the interdisciplinary team as needed for Veterans with complex health, mental health, and unpredictable caseload needs such as High Risk for Suicide assessment and reviews to ensure psychosocial needs through psychosocial assessments, quality case management, clinical treatment, achievable treatment goals, advocacy, and linkage with appropriate VA and community resources as needed by the Veteran.
• Knowledge and experience in the use of medical and mental health diagnoses, disability, and treatment procedures. This includes working to identify Veterans at Acute Risk for Suicide and implementation of Safety plans until acute risk is lowered and Veteran is stabilized to low risk and able to maintain safety in his/her environment.
• The incumbent advises the GS-13 HCHV Program Coordinator of shifting trends with High Risk caseloads and consults to identify the need for and making recommendations on program procedure or policy changes based upon work experiences and program data.
• May perform as a field instructor, preceptor or supervise social work graduate students and providing a training experience for them in social work. Works with students to develop training and goals. Regularly assesses student's progress toward training goals and student's progress. Participants in the school of social work's field instructor training programs and the affiliation process.
• Established a continuing relationship with the Veteran, evaluating progress towards goals and adjusting the treatment plan as appropriate. Meets with Veteran to assess accomplishments and re-establish goals as needed. Makes recommendations for care and change to interdisciplinary treatment plan. Documents independently in the medical records utilizing paper and/or electronic formats, including psychosocial assessments, diagnostics, treatment, progress notes, follow-up, and referral.
• Manages the quality control and evaluation of the professional services and is accountable for the overall effectiveness of the services provided. Modifies services to best meet the needs of veterans and to promote efficient practice. Coordinates social work services with other services offered in the residential program, assuring such services are complementary and comprehensive.
  
  

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday; 0800-1630

Compressed/Flexible:Not Available

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized

Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).

Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)

Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.

Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.

Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.

Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA

Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

Telework: Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 000000

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• You may be required to serve a trial period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
  
  

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

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  United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Education: Have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Graduates of schools of social work that are in candidacy status do not meet this requirement until the School of Social Work is fully accredited. A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the master's degree in social work. Verification of the degree can be made by going tohttp://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work.
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  Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/.
• Loss of Licensure or Certification: Once licensed or certified, social workers must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment.
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  Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C.
• 7403(f).
  
  

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations: Social Worker (Program Coordinator), GS-12

• Experience and Education. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship, or equivalent supervised professional experience.
• Licensure/Certification. Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
• Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring.
• Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program.
• Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program.
• Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s).
• Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice.

Preferred Experience:

• One year experience working independently and with minimal supervision with a variety of people in sometimes difficult situations utilizing critical and creative thinking skills to develop practical solutions.
• One year experience evaluating patients based on their needs, limitations and desires and ability to submit referrals, consults, schedule appointments as appropriate.
• One year experience developing treatment plans for clients that are homeless, with mental illnesses, substance abuse or recovering from traumatic events and frequently communicating with clients to ensure their physical and mental health well-being.
• One year experience following policies, Directives, Handbooks, regulations, etc., .and attention to detail.
• One year experience with community partners and volunteering for community events and working well as part of a team.
• Full independent licensure as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or equivalent.
  
  

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.



Physical Requirements: Individuals, including wage-grade drivers, title 5, title 38 and hybrid title 38 employees or volunteers who are required to operate a government owned or leased vehicle to successfully carry out their assigned duties must be medically cleared prior to appointment (positions that require a CDL are covered under a separate OF-178). Assessment must be made for any acute or chronic medical/physical condition or medication use which interferes with the ability operate the appropriate Government-owned or -leased vehicle safely and without undue risk to themselves or others. The following requirements must be met: distant vision 20/40 in one eye with or without correction; field of vision 70 degrees, ability to distinguish red, green and amber, whispered voice at five feet, or average hearing loss of not greater than 40 dbs. at 500, 1000 and 2,000 Hz.

Education



Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Accreditation Information: The master's degree must be fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Graduates of schools of social work that are in candidacy status do not meet this requirement until the School of Social Work is fully accredited. Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work.

NOTE: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.

NOTE: If your school was accredited by the Council on Social Work Education at the time of graduation but is no longer listed on the Council on Social Work Education website, you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.